


Riding the Sky

by Always_Dreaming, DanisAngel26



Category: MotoGP RPF, Motorcycling RPF
Genre: Grief, Hurt, Other, mythical creatures, new life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 15:15:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11420658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Always_Dreaming/pseuds/Always_Dreaming, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanisAngel26/pseuds/DanisAngel26
Summary: After his fatal accident, something unexpected happens with Nicky he has a hard time with in the beginning but with some old friends next to him, he manages to get by





	Riding the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> this is a chapter that came to mind when me and Always_Dreaming were thinking about would happen with Nicky after that awful day, it took me some time to write it but honestly it was very difficult at times, I hope you like it.
> 
> ~~~~~
> 
> Its kind of like a tribute to Nicky- how he continues and isn't totally lost to us <3

The moment he opens his eyes he closes them immediately again, too bright, much too bright.

Even though Nicky has woken up before on his back staring into white light, remembering the rides on a stretcher into the hospital, this seems different, he slowly opens one eye, nothing but a bright light, second eye following and for a moment he keeps watching. He doesn't see a lamp and that is strange, slowly he sits up frowning when he realizes he's dressed in his cycling gear, helmet on and even the cycling shoes and he looks around but his bike seems to have mysteriously evaporated.

He stands up, slightly wobbling and looking around it makes him wonder is he is sleeping, dreaming, there is green everywhere, flowers, trees even running water, nothing too noteworthy but the colors seem to be much more.........colorful? Brighter and when he reaches out and touches a flower's leaf it even feels different, softer and he blinks when he sees a trace of the color is left behind on his skin but it fades away when he wants to touch it. Frowning he starts walking around, eventually getting off his shoes  
because cycling shoes really are not made to walk on, when he spots a piece of road that seems to be having kerbstones in the corners and now Nicky is really confused, he must be dreaming, there is no other explanation.

He starts following the track, how he starts calling it, sometimes he even seems to see tyre tracks and even the thought there are bikes somewhere around here brings a smile to his face. Without realizing it he starts jogging until he rounds a corner and suddenly comes to a halt, mouth open and frowning he wonders if this is what people call a mirage.  
There just a couple of feet away is a unicorn, a real fucking unicorn and not one but three. Nicky blinks a couple of times but they are still there, slowly approaching them, he reaches out a hand to touch and to his surprise the unicorn stretches his neck to lick his hand, startled Nicky pulls his hand back, releasing a breathless laugh when suddenly another unicorn starts pushing his back with ITS nose towards the track as if it is saying; follow your path.

Nicky walks back to the track, unicorn following him but they stay on the grass, slowly he starts jogging again, something in the sky catching his attention and he almost trips over his feet when he sees a couple of Phoenix' fly.

"Wow, you're beautiful," Nicky says and as if on cue, the unicorns start trampling with their feet making him laugh,"yeah you're beautiful too."

A bit further down the road is a gravel track that leads to some sort of ranch, is the best he can describe it, it makes him think of Valentino Rossi's ranch in Tavullia and he wonders if the tall Italian is here somewhere, seeing from the corner of his eye, the unicorns walk towards a field when Nicky spots something else, Pegasus' and he shakes his head. He starts walking again, halfway the track he stops midstep, seeing five bikes standing, his own in the middle, flanked by four others and when he walks closer he sees the one closest bears the number 74, the one next to that bears the number 58, then his own bike and to the right is a bike with number 48 and the last has the number 39.

Nicky steps back, to get a complete picture and his eyes move over the bikes, one of the Phoenix' having sat down on his bike, his mind automatically filling in the names;

Daijiro Kato, Marco Simoncelli, Nicky Hayden, Shoya Tomizawa and Luis Salom.

Nicky doesn't have to think long before he figures out what they have in common; they're all dead.

 

The second time Nicky wakes up, the light is much less bright, its more a blue-ish glow and he looks around, IT’S a spacious bedroom with a four poster bed and some cabinets. Walking around he sees two French doors that are open and the breeze blows the white curtains back and forth lazily. When a door opens he turns on his heels, voice stolen when he sees who is standing in front of him, immediatly hearing a voice in his head.

_"Italian rider and rising star in the MotoGP class Marco Simoncelli dies at the young age of 24, by wounds caused by a motorcycle accident in the first round at Sepang International circuit."_

_"The track formerly known as the Misano World Circuit, will now be known as the Misano Marco Simoncelli World Circuit."_

Nicky stumbles back, losing his balance and Marco steps forward, reaching out and grabbing Nicky's wrist. The moment his fingers make contact with Nicky's skin, Nicky gasps for breath, eyes wide and looking at Marco's fingers around his wrist before he looks at Marco, light brown looking back worried.

"Please don't black out again." he says.

God that voice, Nicky leans forward, free arm moving up and reaching out for his cheek, prodding it and frowning.

"You're real."

"I am." Marco smiles.

"But you can't be, you're dead, I saw...I saw you die...we buried you, Vale....he was devastated, he called me...at night, crying because of you."

"I know." Marco says, eyes turning sad.

"You know?"

Marco nods, letting go of Nicky and stepping back but Nicky steps forward.

"Marco, what is going on? Am I dreaming?"

A single shake of his head.

"Then what? I saw those bikes outside, Daijiro and Shoya, and Luis and you, mine...am I dead?"

Marco just looks at him, doesn't say anything and he steps back again but Nicky grabs his wrist this time.

"What the fuck is happening, Marco?"

"You need to come down with me."

"No, you need to tell me what's happening!"

"And I will, but not here, come downstairs, there are some people that want to see you too."

Nicky lets go of Marco's wrist, following him downstairs, not paying attention to his surroundings just watching Marco, and when he stops he suddenly sees he's in a huge living room, but they are not alone, there are three other people there. Nicky sidesteps Marco and watches in awe at the three people standing in front of him, not believing what he sees because if he does, that means he's dead. He can't be dead, he doesn't even remember crashing, the hospital, the pain, the lights.

"I know you must be confused right now. "Marco says and lays his hand on Nicky's back. "sit down."

Nicky lets himself be guided to the sofa and sits down, the others opposite him on another sofa.

"I'm dead, aren't I?"

"Yes."

The moment Marco confirms this, Nicky's breath is knocked from his lungs, mouth opening and closing, searching for words. Marco and the others patiently wait until Nicky is ready.

"What happened? I don't remember a crash or falling..."

"You didn't crash." Luis says.

"Then what?"

"Your clothes." Daijiro says.

"My..."

Nicky looks at himself, right, the cycling gear, so he was cycling when it happened.

"So I was hit by a car or something?"

"You don't remember?" Shoya asks.

"No."

"Yes, you were hit by a car, you were taken to Rimini hospital with severe injuries, and were subsequently moved to the major trauma unit at the Maurizio Bufalini Hospital in Cesena for possible surgery but you did not receive any surgery because your body was too weak for that, doctors were worried you wouldn't survive, you died after five days."

"I was in a coma for five days?"

"Yes, Jackie was with you in Italy, she stayed by your bedside the whole time, your team from Superbikes was there, your brother Tommy flew in after a day."

"Jackie," Nicky's eyes turn soft, loving when he remembers his fiancé before he panics. "Jackie is pregnant, she just found out the week before, she even met with a doctor because she wanted to be sure but she is."

The realization Nicky WON’T be around to see his child being born tears him apart, just like the idea Jackie has to do this without him, but at least she has his family, they will never abandon her, they've known her since she was a kid, she and the Hayden kids grew up together, it's funny that sometimes you don't even know the one you need is right there in front of you.

"You should see all the things that are said about you, after your accident and your death," Luis says and stands up to sit down next to Nicky,"you were very loved, by your family of course, Jackie, but also by the fans, the other riders, the teams you've worked with."

"Really?"

"Yes, you shouldn't be so surprised."

"I always tried to be the best person, to be nice and do the right thing." Nicky shrugs.

"And you succeeded spectacularly." Marco smiles.

When Nicky's stomach rumbles he blushes and looks at Marco.

"Why don't you get a shower, we'll have something to eat and maybe we can go for a ride?"

"That would be great." Nicky says, eyes lighting up and leaving to get cleaned up.

 

After the guys have eaten and Shoya, Daijiro and Luis are cleaning up, Nicky sits in front of the house, Marco next to him, watching the unicorns and Pegasi play together and how the Phoenix' are lighting up the sky.

"Did you know what happened?" Nicky asks.

"What do you mean?"

"When you came here, did you know what happened to you?"

"No, I was just like you, Daijiro and Shoya found me, they took me here and explained what happened, the crash, the aftermath, Kate, Vale..."

"He was lost when you died, and the fact he was one of the riders that hit you only made things worse. I've never seen him cry before but he did when he lost you, he blamed himself."

"There was nothing he could have done, I fell right in front of him, just like Colin, they had nowhere to go."

"I know, we told them that so many times, it took months before he was back to his old self again."

"It was heart-breaking to see him like that."

"You could see?" Nicky asks.

"Yeah, we can practically see what we want, we watch all the races."

"Talking about races," they hear Luis say and they look up, "Who's up for a race around the skies?"

Marco smiles and jumps up, reaching his hand for Nicky and pulling him up.

"You'll love this."

And he does, while Daijiro and Shoya speed off with Luis right behind them, Nicky takes his time, taking in his surroundings and even though he's not riding that hard the flowers and trees around him turn into a rainbow nonetheless and it's beautiful and what’s also beautiful are all the animals that keep up with them, running next to the track. So much color it takes his breath away while Marco stays back and keeps behind Nicky, knowing the first time you ride in the sky can be a bit overwhelming. When Marco speeds up and rides beside Nicky, the American looks at him and even underneath the helmet, the Italian can see the smile on his face.

Along the way Nicky starts riding a bit faster, the mythical creatures all keeping up with them and taking the corners faster and Marco keeps following behind him. When they cross the finish line, Daijiro, who has a Phoenix on his shoulder and a unicorn at his feet, Shoya and Luis, are already waiting for them, Nicky stops the bike with Marco next to him and he pulls off his helmet.

"Wow that was amazing!" Nicky exclaims still smiling like a kid in a candy store.

"Told you." Marco says.

Luis gives him a bottle of water and he drinks it in one go before he looks back at Marco.

"When can we go again?"

"Right now, if you want."

"Are you kidding me?"

Nicky already puts his helmet back on, Marco looking at the others.

"I'll stay with him."

With that he puts on his helmet too and riding after Nicky.

 

In the next couple of days, they ride everyday but Nicky also talks to Daijiro, Shoya and Luis about their experience when they arrived here, finding out that when Daijiro arrived, it was just him and the mythical creatures but he was happy just riding his bike being joined by them and having fun, he was joined by Shoya and only a year later Marco. Even though both Japanese riders got on well they realized quickly after Marco's arrival they missed one thing, humor, something that came in abundance with the lanky Italian. Letting laughter fill the house and making the races more interesting too.

Then, five years later, Luis came. He was so confused about what happened, not wanting to believe he was really dead, what had happened to him, being in denial, trying to convince himself he was dreaming or having a nightmare. Daijiro and Shoya not really knowing how to handle the young Spaniard but Marco seemed to know exactly what to do, just let him go when he wants to, let him ride when he wants too, just make sure you're there when it hits home. And hitting home it did, Luis broke down, crying and screaming and even throwing things around the house. Marco would send Daijiro and Shoya away on those days, himself staying to make sure Luis wouldn't hurt himself. After hours Luis finally stopped, drained and he sagged into the couch, Marco next to him just staying quiet and waiting for Luis to talk but what he said Marco didn't expect at all.

"I want to see the race."

"Luis, I don't think..."

"I want to see the race, Marco, I need to see."

"Ok."

 

"Did it help?" Nicky wants to know.

"It did, seeing those guys race without me, it was hard of course, but the thing that helped me the most were all the tributes everyone made to honor me. That really made me cry, even those guys in MotoGP, the great Valentino Rossi and someone like Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa dedicating their win and podium to me, wearing a shirt just for me, that was amazing."

"It doesn't matter if you're Moto3, Moto2 or MotoGP, we're all one family."

"I realized that then."

"You should look at this." Marco says.

The Italian sits down next to Nicky, swiping his hand from right to left and suddenly a screen appears, tweets and Facebook messages of love and support for Nicky's family and Jackie, pictures, tweets from his fellow riders but also from the riders in MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3, all saying to be devastated by Nicky's passing. Nicky reaches out to touch  
and moves his finger and thumb away from each other to blow the message up, seeing it shows Jackie and Nicky together in happier times and Nicky feels a lump in his throat.

"I'm sure your family will look after her, like mine looked after Kate after my passing."

"I know they will, she will need them especially now that she's pregnant. I wish I could be with her, experience this with her, I should be, I'm going to miss the birth of my first child."

"You know we can see whatever we want here, right?" Marco says.

"I thought...you meant TV."

"No, I mean whatever we want."

"Can I see her now?"

"If you want."

"I do."

"Ok."

Marco clears the screen and with a swift move of his hand the screen is filled with Jackie. Marco looks at Nicky, seeing the American has trouble keeping his own tears inside and he gets up, motioning for the rest to follow him and they leave to give Nicky some time alone, eyes sad, clothes black and tears falling down her eyes that have dark circles  
around it, the long blond hair which normally looks so shiny now looks dull and like it hasn't been washed for days. Slowly Nicky reaches out his hand and caresses her skin, involuntarily trying to wipe the tears away and then smiling about how silly that is. 

"I'm so sorry, babe, I didn't mean to leave you, just let my family take care of you, of you and the baby, you know they will, I love you, always and I will always be with you, never forget me."

With that he makes a gesture with his hand and Jackie is gone, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

 

The months pass and Nicky enjoyed doing his laps around the sky together with the other guys and in between playing with these beautiful creatures that always seemed to be around. They would watch the races together, not just Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP but also of course the Superbikes, Nicky shedding a tear when seeing all the tributes in the classes that were made to him but also enjoying the races, cheering his friends on, betting on riders who would win, who would retire first or who would crash out first. Every now and then he would ask for a moment with Jackie alone, happy to see her grow every week, see that blush return to her cheeks, picking her life back up, going shopping for the little one with her sisters and with Nicky's sisters. He was happy his family kept in close contact with her, he knew they would but it was nice to see confirmation of that. 

During the last stages of her pregnancy she started to complain more, walking was more difficult, sleeping was practically out of the question and the pain in her back got worse, she often complained about how she looked like a giant whale and that somewhere she was glad Nicky couldn't see her like this, it always made him smile, telling her she looked more beautiful every day and how much he loves her still.

 

"How's Jackie doing?" Luis asks one evening.

"She's doing so good," Nicky says proudly. "she's beautiful even though she thinks she looks like a whale."

"She's nearly there isn't she?"

"Just three more weeks," Nicky says and bites his lip, "how will I know?"

"Know what?"

"When she's going into labor?"

"You'll know." Marco says.

Nicky frowns, wanting to know how but there is something in Marco's voice that stops him from asking more so he keeps quiet. 

The next few days he keeps busy with riding the other guys and even managing to win a couple when someday, during a ride he suddenly feels a wave of pain in his lower abdomen and the bike slips from under him. When he sits up, there are some creatures besides him, licking his face and making him smile but then he feels the pain again.

"What's wrong?" Luis asks and sits down.

"My stomach hurts." Nicky says.

"That's strange, we can't get hurt here." Shoya frowns.

"Oh there it is again." Nicky says and almost doubles in pain.

"I think I know what's going on," Marco says, "come on, help me get him back."

About ten minutes later they arrive back at the house, placing him on the couch and Marco waves his hand to make the screen appear, showing what he thought. Jackie in the hospital, her mom and dad next to her and she's in labor.

"Oh my god, it's happening."

"We'll leave you alone." Marco says.

Nicky, however doesn't even seem to hear them, so absorbed in what he sees, Jackie lying on the bed seemingly in pain but her mom and dad do everything they can to help her. After hours of pushing and yelling and even screaming, from Jackie just as much as from Nicky himself, until finally there is this little person, a girl. The little baby is placed on Jackie's chest, who immediatly begins to cry, the baby is beautiful, the few moments she opens her eyes Nicky can see the dark color of it, few tufts of blond hair on her head and he looks at Jackie, even in her state Nicky still thinks she's beautiful.

"What are you going to call him?" one of THE nurses ask.

"Nicky Patricia Hayden." she says resolute.

Nicky bites his lip, remembering his full name, Nicholas Patrick Hayden and he smiles.

"He would be honored." Jackie's mom says.

"I'd rather have him here."

"We all do, but he will live through her."

**Author's Note:**

> I know the ending might be a bit abrupt but I don't really know how to end a story like this...
> 
> many thanks to Always_Dreaming, couldn't have done this without you <3
> 
> ~~~~~~
> 
> I must make it clear that this work is 99% that of Lady_Marquez93 All I did was correct a few spelling and grammar mistakes. So she is the one who deserves all the praise <3


End file.
